News – Ba’byl, a short story, is now available on Amazon

“Ba’byl” is a strange little story I wrote a few years ago about a traveler who visits a dying kingdom and has a conversation with the queen who built it. I rediscovered the story in my files this year and fell in love with my own work—which, as any writer can tell you, is a rare and […]

Why I’m Not Playing Pokémon GO

I grew up with Pokémon. As a kid, I woke up early every weekday morning to watch the show before school. I collected the cards, I collected all things Pikachu, and I heartily enjoyed the GameBoy games. I liked to wear my Ash Ketchum hat and pretend I was Ashley Ketchum, Pokémon master extraordinaire. When I […]

Costs of Traveling

Ed and I just spent a couple of weeks in Florida followed almost immediately by several days in Pennsylvania, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to get home in my life. We had a great time, but I’m exhausted and feel like we’ve hardly been able to get any traction in Indiana since we […]

Remember the Hourglass

Just over a month ago, I attended a funeral for a family friend. Ed, Dan, and I were going to be in Florida anyway, for a wedding, and my mom had suggested I visit Leslie in hospice when we visited as it would likely be my last chance. I suppose I refused to accept the reality of her condition, […]

Hand Soap Label Printables

This isn’t exactly a “design” blog or a “graphics” blog, but from time to time I do design things for myself and every once in a while I think it would be nice for other people to have access to them. In this case, Ed wanted to reuse a shower gel bottle for hand soap […]

On Fortunes and Men

In the last twenty-four hours I have spoken with two men whose disparate fortunes have caused me to pause. One is in his mid-sixties, one is in his early fifties, neither follows the Lord, and both are pondering their own mortality. The first man engaged in a long conversation about myriad topics. Religion featured heavily, but we also […]

News – Changed Name

Just a quick update: I have recently gotten married and have tacked my husband’s last name onto mine, so if you’re looking for just Rae Botsford the writer, you have indeed found her! Just be aware that my name may be listed as “Rae Botsford” in some places (where I haven’t caught up yet, or […]

How Ed Proposed

So, I knew Ed was going to propose at some point. We were in the car together one day when my dad called instead of texting in response to Ed’s request for a dinner meeting, so I knew he had asked my parents for their blessing. But weeks had passed since then. Ed had had […]